“Danny!”
They both turned to find Olivia standing in the doorway to the galley kitchen. She was dressed only in Conor’s flannel shirt, the tails barely reaching her thighs. Her hair was mussed and her lips slightly puffy. Conor wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her, a perfect start to the day. But he held back. Last night was supposed to be the last time, he told himself.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “Have you come to protect me?”
“Actually,” Conor said, “Danny just stopped by to give me a message from my boss. He was just leaving, weren’t you, Danny.”
“But you can stay for coffee, can’t you?” Olivia asked. “We haven’t had much company.” She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a mug of coffee. “I wanted to thank you for bringing over my things from the cottage on Cape Cod.”
Danny grinned, instantly besotted with her. What was this power she had over men? Conor wondered. All she had to do was smile at them and they went soft in the head. “No problem. I took home that seafood stuff myself.”
“The paella?”
Danny nodded. “It was really good. You’re a good cook, Ms. Farrell.”
She smiled. “Has the district attorney contacted you, Danny?”
“The district attorney?” Danny asked.
Conor shook his head, warning him off. “Danny really has to leave, Olivia. He’s late for work.”
She held the coffee in her hands and breathed in the steam. “But shouldn’t I talk to the D.A. before I testify? I mean, that’s what they do on television, isn’t it? I can’t just walk in there and answer his questions, can I? Doesn’t he have to prepare me?”
Danny glanced back and forth between them, then smiled wanly. “Yes. I-I mean, I don’t know. I guess that would depend.”
Conor turned Danny around and pushed him out of the kitchen toward the door. “Aren’t you going to tell her the good news?” Danny asked.
“Go back to the station,” Conor murmured. “I’ll see you later today.” He pulled open the door, gently shoved Danny out, closing it behind him. Then he turned and leaned back against the door. Conor’s mind turned over all the possibilities, all the ways he could tell her that their time together was over. But he couldn’t. He needed more time, just another day or two, time enough to see if what they shared would last in the real world, time to see if there was any truth to the words he’d made her say the night before.
He wanted to believe Olivia could love him, but the real truth was staring him right in the eyes. They were from two different worlds. He was a cop, making a cop’s salary and living a cop’s life. She deserved more than that. She deserved a man who could stand beside her at her society parties, who could meet her rich friends and make intelligent conversation, not some guy who’d taken night courses to finish college and who preferred police reports to good literature.
“I probably shouldn’t have come out when Danny was here,” Olivia murmured.
Conor turned. Olivia stood in the dining room, looking delicate and vulnerable and completely kissable. But he held his ground. “No problem.”
“What if he says something?”
“Danny knows when to keep his mouth shut,” Conor said. He pushed off the door and walked into the dining room, then picked up his clothes. He was afraid to look at her again, afraid that he’d want to take her into his arms and make love to her for the rest of the day.
“I can make you some breakfast,” Olivia said.
Conor smiled tightly. “That’s all right. I wouldn’t want you to set the kitchen on fire.” He glanced up at her and saw disappointment suffuse her pretty face. He’d insulted her. “I’m sorry. I have to go. My boss wants to see me this morning and I can’t keep him waiting.”
Olivia nodded and she watched as he got dressed. By the time he pulled on his socks and shoes, her brow was furrowed and she was worrying at her lower lip with her teeth. Conor grabbed his jacket and his holster, then stepped over to her to drop a chaste kiss on her cheek. “Don’t go out,” he warned. “I’ll be back in a little while.”
When he reached the safety of the hallway, he leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath. “You should just walk away now,” he murmured to himself. “Just let her go while you still can.”
It would be so easy. All he’d have to do was send an officer over to the condo to tell her the good news. She’d pack up and leave and he’d never have to see her again. But he couldn’t bring himself to do that. He knew how much it would hurt Olivia.
No, he’d wait. Another day or two together was all he needed to find out for sure. And then they could leave this place and go on with their lives. And whether it was together or apart, Conor knew that he’d have given it a chance. That was all he could ask for-just a chance.
8
“WHY CAN’T WE go out?” Olivia asked. “The weather is beautiful. And no one has tried to shoot me for days. Why can’t we go for a drive or just take a walk? We could go out for lunch! We’ll drive way out in the country where no one could possibly recognize us. I’d even settle for drive-thru.”
Conor looked up at her from behind his newspaper. He’d been strangely silent the past few days, distant, as if something weighed heavily on his mind. He’d made a few trips into the city and come back distracted, his face lined with tension, but when Olivia had asked what was wrong, he’d smiled and reassured her that everything was fine. She thought his worry might have to do with the trial and her testimony, that the danger to her wouldn’t end at that. But she didn’t want anything to interfere with the last few days they had together, so Olivia didn’t press with her questions.
Their nights together hadn’t changed. They’d both conveniently forgotten the promise they’d made and fallen into bed the very next night with as much passion as ever. Conor had been particularly uninhibited, making love to her each night until neither one of them could move, almost as if he were making love to her for the last time. After a night like that, she almost expected him to be gone in the morning. But Conor was always there when she woke, his limbs tangled with hers, his face nestled in the curve of her neck.
They hadn’t mentioned the future, but Olivia knew with every day that passed they were coming closer to the time when they’d no longer have to be together. She’d expected that the district attorney would want to see her before she testified, but Conor hadn’t mentioned anything about a meeting before the trial. She’d learned to trust him without question.
“Please,” she begged, “put down your newspaper.”
“All right,” Conor said. He tossed aside the
Olivia clapped her hands, then raced to the bedroom to grab her jacket. She didn’t care whether they were taking a risk. She needed to find out what life was like outside the condo. But, more importantly, she needed to find out what Conor was like when he wasn’t standing guard or making love to her. They’d never really been out together and she needed a chance to gauge his feelings once they went back to the real world. Would he still touch her at every opportunity? Would he take her hand or drape an arm around her shoulders? Would he be at ease or would reality shatter the dream world they’d lived in for the past week?
She hurried out of the bedroom to find Conor waiting at the door. He opened it gallantly, then swept out his arm. “Your carriage awaits,” he teased.
In truth, Olivia was surprised that he’d agreed to take her out at all. He was normally so vigilant, but maybe even he had started to go a little stir-crazy. When she stepped into the sunshine and the fresh air, she stopped and held her hands out. Then she closed her eyes and twirled around. “I feel like I’ve been released from prison,” she cried. “It’s a glorious day.”
She ran to the car and Conor opened the door for her. Then he jogged around to the driver’s side. Though the car wasn’t Dylan’s Mustang, it did move. And it was taking them out on an adventure! Olivia didn’t care whether the
